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Daily Delight

Friday, September 8, 2017

How often do you retreat to restore? In today’s hyperconnected world, what is your natural tendency when issues arise or negativity gets in the way?

There is a verse that has interceded into my life: “After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone” (Matthew 14:23) . A version of this act, this deliberate act, is on repeat throughout the New Testament. Jesus literally goes off by himself to pray. A man, surrounded by followers, leading the next generation of Christians, a man whose purpose is to save the souls of all of us, goes off by himself to pray.

Why are we afraid to be alone? Maybe you can relate, but even when I am ‘alone’ I find myself remaining connected to the world around me through a screen. There are far fewer times in life that I have been alone, connected with nothing but me and Jesus than I wish to admit. When life gets hard or uneasy, I crave attention, distraction and anything but silence. I typically go to a place as far away from my inner being as possible. Why is that?

Whether mere conditioning of society or a deeper strand of avoidance of self, what stands out to me every time I read Jesus’ act of retreating away, I feel a small kick in my gut. What would life look like if I retreated away, to restore, to rejuvenate, to realign?

I hope you join me in imagining what l life could be like with a little stillness, with deliberate acts of restoration and with a little more surrender to Him. Oh, and FYI - Jesus goes on to walk on water through the end of Matthew chapter 14, immediately after being on the mountainside… no big deal.

Katelyn is on a quest to live aligned and faith-filled. A lover of all things trending, leadership, ‘lol’ stories, strong coffee and good conversation, she is a wellness warrior on a mission to connect with others on their journey to living their best lives. Katelyn believes in the power of people and prayer and dreams of building community through and with Christ.